Tony Blair, Boris Johnson and wrestling star John Cena among guests at lavish wedding of Asia's richest man
13 July 2024, 07:58 | Updated: 13 July 2024, 08:48
Former UK prime ministers Boris Johnson and Tony Blair were among the famous faces to attend the wedding celebrations of the son of India's richest man in Mumbai on Friday.
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The two politicians were part of a star-studded guest list, including Bollywood actors, athletes and musicians, that were invited to Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant's ceremony.
The extravagant four-day event will mark the end of a series of elaborate parties the Ambani family has hosted since March to celebrate the marriage.
Anant Ambani is the son of Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Asia's richest man while Radhika Merchant is the daughter of pharma tycoons Viren and Shaila Merchant.
The former prime ministers were joined by a host of A-list celebrities including Kim and Khloe Kardashian, John Cena, and Joe Jonas, who attended with his wife and bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino and his wife Leena Al Ashqar were also spotted at the wedding.
The list of guests expected over the course of the celebrations includes Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, Ivanka Trump, Bill Gates and David and Victoria Beckham.
Former Indian president Ram Nath Kovind, British High Commissioner to India Lindy Cameron, and US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti are also in Mumbai for the celebrations.
Justin Bieber and Rihanna performed at a pre-wedding party for guests known as a ‘Sangeet’ and were reportedly paid $10 million and $7 million respectively.
Meanwhile according to sources, Adele, Drake or Lana Del Rey could take to the stage at the reception on Sunday evening.
The Ambanis have not revealed the wedding costs but planners estimate they've already spent between 11 billion and 13 billion rupees [£101m-£120m] while the couple's luxury wedding gifts are also valued around £100 million.
Father of the groom Mr Ambani, 67, who is listed by Forbes as the world’s 10th richest man and worth £100 billion has already gifted the newly-weds a £62 million villa on Palm Jumeriah in Dubai.
Mr Ambani’s wife Nita, 60 presented her daughter-in-law a pearl and diamond choker, worth an estimated £10 million.
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Images from the wedding show the bride dressed in a heavy cream and red Indian bridal dress - called a lengha, with jewels and a beaded headscarf.
Meanwhile, the groom was pictured wearing a red beaded jacket - called a nehru - at the traditional Hindu ceremony at the Ambani-owned, 16,000-capacity Jio World Convention Center.
Police reportedly closed off roads surrounding the venue ahead of the massive star-studded wedding celebration that took place on Friday.
CEO of air charter company Club One Air, Rajan Mehra, told Reuters the family had rented three Falcon-2000 jets to take wedding guests to the event.
“The guests are coming from all over and each aircraft will make multiple trips across the country,” he said.
The ceremony has received a degree of backlash with those in Mumbai complaining the road closures have worsened traffic snarls caused by monsoon flooding, while others have questioned the ostentatious display of wealth at the seemingly never-ending celebrations.
Opposition politician Thomas Isaac said it was "obscene".
He posted on X: "Legally it may be their money but such ostentatious expenditure is a sin against mother earth and (the) poor."
Despite this, one unnamed executive at Reliance claimed the event was a "powerful symbol of India's growing stature on the global stage".
